It's crazy to think that 2020 is almost over. It feels like only days ago everyone was reading about protests or how murder hornets have invaded the United States, how everyone was watching and raving over Tiger King, and then dressing up as the TV personalities for Halloween and how we were seeing grocery stores running out of toilet paper because society felt the need to stock up on it.

As much as I would love to put this year behind me, there were times when I was happy to be where I was at. There are things I can appreciate, and there are many things that I learned from this year.

You have to be more cautious about how other people feel.

This is a broad topic, but it came up so many times this year. For example, I know I hate to wear a mask every time I go outside and at events, but I wear it for others as well as myself. Some people may be more intimidated by COVID-19 than others, but no matter what their opinion is, they should wear a mask in order for others to be comfortable.

Being kinder to people also goes along with the event of the Black Lives Matter movement. We need to learn as a society what we need to fix in order to make everyone feel comfortable and equal.

Appreciate where you are and make the most of it.

I have a new word that I hate: quarantine. It was long and it was boring. I wanted it to be over as soon as it started. But it did allow for my family to spend quality time together. We watched movies, went on walks, ate meals together, and played games. I also tried to make quarantine better by trying new hobbies (thank you TikTok!) I learned embroidery, painted a sick design on my jean jacket for future tailgates at Penn State football games and also learned how to put on my own acrylic nails.

Quarantine was awful, but there were some positive outcomes too, and it was my own mindset of trying to see the bright side that got me through it.

Your mental health is super important.

Again, quarantine did not help my mental health and this is what pushed me to focus on it more. I realized that if my mental health is not where I want it to be, I need to start fixing it so I can live how I want to. Your mental health is so important because it essentially moves you live how you want to.

Some tips and tricks I learned are to write out how you feel. Journaling is so important because it allows you to reflect and realize what you are going through. Another trick is to know that it's okay to have good and bad days. It's okay to be unproductive sometimes and just lay in bed. But you also need to know that exercise and getting things done can improve your mental health immensely,

2020 was one for books, but looking back, I'm glad I experienced what I did and learned from it.